Port Angeles, WA

I enjoy a good cup of coffee in Port Angeles at the Bella Rosa. This is not a paid advertisement of any kind, but I have to brag about what I call MY coffee shop. If you love a good cup of coffee in a great atmosphere, listen up.

Outstanding gourmet coffee, of course. That's required, or we go no further. But they have comfortable chairs and sofas and tables, free newspapers, and computer counters and outlets for the laptops, not to mention FREE Internet. Yes! [Starbucks is closing a lot of shops around the country. I bet if they had free Internet, everything would be ok. I joke.]

I love Bella Rosa. I guess part of it is their really good customer service. Everyone who works there is absolutely wonderful. Always kind and thoughtful, and always good with my double short lattes.

Check it out if you are on Lincoln Street in Port Angeles, across from the Safeway store. I wonder if they would give me a free latte for this unsolicited promotion? (Hey, Bella Rosa, my email is chuckmarunde@gmail.com.)

As of June 2nd there were 350 homes on the market, up ten percent from the same time last year Homes priced at $199,900 and below have a 45% increase in inventory from 2007 with 66 available now versus 36 last year. Homes priced from $200,000 - $249,999 are up eight percent with 61 available now over the 56 last year.

Home sales are down almost 24% from last year. It is taking an average of 31% longer to sell a home, but they are selling. In 2007, 161 homes had sold by the beginning of June. So far, 123 homes have sold year-to-date. Of those, 85 (69% of the sales) have been homes priced under $250,000. Homes priced from $250,000 - $299,999 are in third place with fourteen sales this year. Eight homes in the $350,000 - $399,999 range have sold and homes priced from $300,000 - $349,999 and $400,000 - $499,999 have each had six sales, down an average of 50% from last year.

Inventory of homes priced between $500,000 - $599,999 is down 48% from 2007 with eleven currently available; whereas homes priced at $600,000 and above are up fifteen-percent with 28 on the market.

The supply and demand of homes priced under $250,000 is fairly balanced with an average of about seven-and-a-half months of inventory between the two segments. There is about nineteen months of inventory of homes priced from $250,000 - $299,999. After that, the absorption rate shrinks dramatically.

There's a 33 month supply of homes priced from $400,000 - $599,999. Homes priced from $350,000 - $399,999 have a 41.5 month supply. Homes priced over $600,000 have a 42.4 month absorption rate. The slowest movers (comparing supply to demand) are the homes in the $300,000 - $349,999 segment where there is almost 45 months of supply.

While Washington is faring better than most states, it is estimated three to five percent of the properties for sale in the Port Angeles area fall into the "distressed property" or foreclosed classifications.

A distressed property is one that is the primary residence of the owner and that is: in default on the mortgage; at least 30 days delinquent on the loan secured by the property; where the owner believes they will default on their mortgage or loan within the next four months; or that is at risk due to non-payemnt of taxes. Special rules now apply to such sales. Contact a Realtor for more information.

They say there really is no "good market" or "bad market," only that the market is a dynamic where there is always opportunity. But for sellers trying to move quickly, this is a frustrating market.

Inventory is up with 331 homes available at the end of April, compared to 308 last year Properties are taking an average of 25% longer to sell and sales are down 21%.

Is that bad news? It depends on how you look at it. There are 65 homes priced under $199,900. Last year there were 39. Homes for sale between $200,000 and $249,900 number 55 versus 49 in ‘07. There were 65 homes in the $250,000 - $299,900 range last year. There are 64 now. In the $300,000 - $349,900 segment, we have 46 homes, down four from last year; while the $350,000 - $399,900 range has four more than lastyear with 31 currently for sale.

Looking at the top three brackets, the $400,000 - $499,900 grouping has 30 offerings currently. There were 34 last year. The $500,000 - $599,900 range saw 23 available last year and 16 on the market now. In the top ($600,000+) category there are three more than last year with two dozen currently available.

Looking at absorbtion rates - how long it would take to sell out in a particular price segment - folks with homes priced in the $500,000's are looking at slightly more than four years of supply, followed by homes in the $300,000 - $349,900 segment which has a 46 month inventory.

The top range of $600,000+ has a three year supply; $400,000 - $499,900 homes would need almost 26 months to be depleted. Homes priced from $350,000 - $399,900 fare better with justunder two years of inventory. Homes listed between $250,000 - $299,900 have about 18 months of supply.

The fastest moving segments are the $200,000 - $249,900 group with about eight months of inventory and the homes priced below $200,000 with slightly less than seven months of supply.

For those trying to sell, price is an all-important consideration and so is timing. While inventory levels may be up, as one broker recently said, "If you are looking to sell your home in the next year - with things moving as they are now - I'd recommend you get it listed soon. It may sell quickly; there are homes that do. But if it doesn't, do you really want to start the process later and have it take even longer?" As for buyers, well, as it was said in the beginning, there are opportunities to be had if you can act now.